This is a place that everyone can share their views on a host of different topics. You will have a host of Political threads and a mix of possible relationship entry's with life stories.
I will also recommend Movies, Computer Advice, and some software you can use. If you have any questions regarding a posting or a general question about PC's, just contact me at the email address listed. Enjoy. Pulling Stories You May Have Missed! This Site May Take A Minute to load so be Patient!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

WASHINGTON -- An outside group founded this spring by two former Obama White House advisers has raked in millions in donations since April, relying in part on top-flight fundraisers and labor unions to counter GOP-leaning ads this summer critical of the president and congressional Democrats.

While a tentative deal has been reached to raise the debt ceiling, a number of Republican lawmakers arethreatening to blow up the compromise over a provision that would trigger modest cuts to the military if the bipartisan deficit reduction committee the bill creates cannot reach an agreement. Republicans are threatening a “sizable GOP defection in the House” while hawkish Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) have expressed concernabout the potential defense cuts.

Moments ago, President Obama addressed the nation to announce that he had reached an agreement with Republicans to raise the debt ceiling, just two days from potential default. Obama did not discuss details of the deal, but it is likely very similar to the one unveiled by Congressional leaders this morning. He did say the deal was not “what I would have preferred,”but said it will “allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest America.” Most importantly, it will ensure we don’t have to repeat the crisis in coming months, Congressional leaders from both parties will present the plans tomorrow, urging lawmakers to support it. Watch it:

House Republicans signed on earlier in the night, after Senate Democrats did this afternoon. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said in a conference call with reporters, “My hope would be to file it and have it on the floor as soon as possible.”

Even so, it appears Boehner is already pushing the goal posts. A bipartisan debt reduction committee established by the proposal is charged with looking for ways to reduce the deficit by either cutting spending or increasing revenue. But Boehner put out statement tonight titled, “Two Step Approach To Hold President Obama Accountable,” saying Republicans intend to bind the commitee with accounting rules to “effectively mak[e] it impossible for Joint Committee toincrease taxes.” Obama said in his address that he would push for a “balanced approach” on the committee. Obama has suggested previously that if tax reform doesn’t happen through the committee, he will veto an extension of Bush tax cuts when they come up at the end of 2012.

UPDATE

You can read the fact sheet on the deal released by the White House here

To hear an awful lot of white folks tell it, the problem with black people is that they just don't want to work hard enough in school. They act up and refuse to study or get good grades, because they don't want to be put down for "acting white." In other words, the African American community is beset by a culture of anti-intellectualism, contrasted, one supposes with our own white culture of studiousness and academic achievement.

In a letter to President Obama, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus implored the president to invoke the Fourteenth Amendment to prevent the debt ceiling from triggering a fiscal disaster. The letter argues that Obama has “both the authority and a moral obligation” to invoke the Constitution “to avoid an economic catastrophe of historic proportions.” Every single one of the CBC’s members signed the letter with the exception of the caucus’ sole Republican, Rep. Allen West (R-FL).

Less than three days from potential default, the White House and Congressional Republicans reached a potential deal to raise the debt ceiling and lower the deficit late last night. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on CNN’s State of the Union today that both sides were “very close” to a deal that will cut $3 trillion over 10 years, saying negotiators have made “dramatic progress” over the weekend. Democrats appear less confident that the deal will hold, but still expressed optimism.

Bret Baier is here, because not even Chris Wallace can pretend anymore. Gene Sperling is here, to talk about the economy. Then Dick Durbin will yell at celebrated American liar Jon "Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement (NITBAFS)" Kyl, who will probably tell America untruths and then attempt to "revise and extend" his remarks. Also, Kevin McCarthy, will add his prattle to what's already turning into a seven-layer dip of uselessness.

WASHINGTON -- In order to shore up GOP support for a debt-ceiling deal, Senate Democrats are exploring ways of giving the proposed Super Congress even greater super powers, according to multiple news reports and congressional aides with knowledge of the plan. Under the new proposal, if the new legislative body composed of 12 members of both parties doesn't come up with a bill that cuts at least $1.8 trillion by Thanksgiving, entitlement programs will automatically be slashed.

Yesterday, conservative radio and television host Bill O’Reilly had a message for the far-right absolutists in the GOP who are driving the country to the brink of default: You’re helping President Obama get re-elected. On his Fox News show, O’Reilly argued that the unrealistic demands and tactics of Tea Party activists and lawmakers are actually self-defeating:

House Republicans met today in an attempt to scrape together votes to pass House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) plan for raising the debt ceiling. Boehner pulled the bill from the floor last night when it became apparent that he didn’t have to votes to proceed, and has made it even more right-wing today in an attempt to drum up support.

Despite recent rhetoric from GOP lawmakers, Republican presidents have raised the statutory limit on U.S. debt by a much greater percentage than either of the two Democrats elected since 1981. According an analysis of historical data compiled on the statutory limit by the Office of Management and Budget, former President Ronald Reagan outstrips all other executives to date, increasing the debt ceiling by 199.5 percent during his eight years in office. He is followed by President George W. Bush, Jr. at a 90.2 percent increase over eight years and by President George H. Bush, Sr. at a 48.0 percent increase over only four years in office.

Under the leadership of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), the Republicans continue to precipitate a stalemate over the debt ceiling and a possible economic crisis. As ThinkProgress’ Zaid Jilani and Travis Waldron have reported, not only did the Republican leadership vote multiple times for clean debt ceiling hikes under more favorable political circumstances, but no less than 98 currently serving House GOP members did so as well.

The rhetoric over raising the debt ceiling has become increasingly harsh as Democratic and Republican congressional leaders trade barbs back and forth. But as the U.S. inches closer to defaulting on its debts for the first time in history, criticism of Congress is starting to come from beyond our own borders. From France and Germany to China and India, countries around the world are angry that American politicians play with the possibility of a U.S. default like a yo-yo with little regard for the international economic system that depends on American solvency.

In a brief interview with ThinkProgress at today’s Save Our Schools march in Washington, actor Matt Damon said he supported the movement in Wisconsin to recall Gov. Scott Walker (R), who earlier this year signed union-busting legislation that stripped teachers of collective bargaining rights and made draconian cuts to the state’s education system. ThinkProgress asked Damon if he supported the recall against Walker because of those education cuts. Damon, replied, “Among other things, yeah.” Watch it:

Actor and activist Matt Damon spoke at the Save Our Schools rally today. Before he spoke, Damon granted ThinkProgress an exclusive interview. We asked him about how teachers unions are being demonized in much of the media and teachers are being blamed as the root of all problems in public education. Damon told us that the attacks on teachers unions are part of a larger “war on unions over the last decade” and condemned “punitive policies” that punish teachers without looking at the social factors that lead to student achievement.

NEW YORK -- Michael Gardner, owner of Siegel's Clothing Superstore & Tuxedos in San Francisco, has written orders for underwear and socks, but he hasn't sent them. He wants to hire a part-time worker, but he has put that plan on hold. Earlier this month, he said, a drop-off in demand almost caused his mail-order business to grind to a halt.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Earlier today, Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) was projecting confidence that his debt plan would pass at a vote scheduled at 6:00pm. He was even spotted singing “It’s a zippity-doo-dah day.” However, Boehner could not round up enough members of his caucus for the 6:00pm vote, and it was pushed back into later tonight. Now, NPR is reporting that Boehner haspostponed the vote until tomorrow or later.

ThinkProgress has carefully monitored the whip count as Boehner tries to twist enough arms for his plan to pass. Our latest count has at least 26 confirmed “no” votes, and several more on the fence.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

GOP 2012 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has been basing his campaign on his supposed economic bona fides, falsely stating that the Obama administration has made the economy “worse.” Romney particularly highlights his supposed history as a job creator. “I know what it takes to create jobs,” he says. “I’ll do everything in my power to create more jobs for Americans.”

Last night the Chicago Sun-Times broke the story that Tea Party freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), who has spent months lecturing President Obama and Democrats on fiscal responsibility, owes $117,437 in child support to his ex-wife and three children. Laura Walsh has asked a judge to suspend his driver’s license until he pays his child support. Despite loaning his own campaign $35,000— and paying himself back at least $14,200 for the loans — Walsh claims he failed to make the payments because he “had no money.”

As House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) struggles to get his caucus’ collective “ass in line” for today’s vote on his re-worked debt ceiling plan, a growing number of House Democrats are pushing for a vote on a clean debt ceilingincrease. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and the Congressional Black Caucus — save Rep. Allen West (R-FL) — were rounding up support for a plan that, absent a debt deal that can pass in both chambers, will just raise the debt ceiling to prevent default this coming Tuesday.

As ThinkProgress reported last April, home furniture giant IKEA has set up shop at a manufacturing plant in Danville, Virginia for the past three years in order to gain access to a non-unionized pool of labor and avoid Swedish unions. Workers at the Danville plant allegedly faced mandatory overtime, frantic hours, and even racial discrimination.

Politico reports today that, according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, Anders Breivik, the right-wing “fundamentalist” charged with the terror attacks in Norway last week, purchased high-capacity gun clips from the United States. Part of Breivik’s attack included a gun assault on a Labour Party youth camp just outside of Oslo:

As the Republicans haggle over whether to support their own plan for raising the nation’s debt ceiling, an“unprecedented” coalition of religious leaders are urging President Obama and Congress not to sacrifice the needs of the poor in the name of debt reduction. Even the conservative U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops joined the effort, singling out House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) plan for its “disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons.”

About a dozen religious leaders were arrested in the Capitol rotunda today after they refused to end their public prayers calling for “an equitable resolution to the debt ceiling debate,” according to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which organized the protest. The leaders noted that default would be catastrophic, but current plans to raise the debt limit would still include “severe spending cuts to the programs and services that support the poorest and most vulnerable people living in the U.S. and around the world.” A photo of the leaders captured by the New York Times

During a question-and-answer session yesterday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “If we don’t come to a conclusion soon, Democrats in the House are saying, we must pass a clean debt ceiling bill while continuing our discussions, as we know we must to reduce the deficit.” The Congressional Black Caucus has also said that a clean vote is the path out of the current stalemate. Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced its support of Rep. Peter Welch’s (D-VT) clean vote proposal to get out of the current crisis. Read our view on the need for a clean vote here.

Tonight at around 6 p.m., the House of Representatives will vote on the Boehner plan, which would create another debt ceiling crisis in less than six months andlikely lead to a downgrade in U.S. credit. Boehner needs 216 votes to pass the plan. Since there are 240 Republican members of the House, Boehner can only afford to have 24 Republicans vote against the bill — provided he does not get any Democratic votes.

Police in Virginia are trying to track down a man believed to have slashed at least five women on the butt.

A few days ago, an 18-year-old woman was shopping at Forever 21 in Fairfax, Virginia when she felt a sharp pain on her rear end, report from NBC Washington. She told police she thought at first that she had been struck with a clothes hanger. Only after further inspection did she realize she had been cut through her shorts with a box cutter or razor.

According to the victims, the attack usually occurs after a distraction, such as clothes falling off a rack. Afterward, the attacker calmly walks away without drawing attention to himself.

Lucy Caldwell of the Fairfax County Police told the station that one reason for the perpetrator's success could be because of the rarity of the crime.

"Because it's such an unusual thing, no one would ever expect something like that to occur," she said. "They may be walking along and put their hand to their backside and feel it."

Gregg McCrary, a former FBI profiler, told the News & Messenger that although the women are not seriously harmed, the violence could escalate if he is not caught.

"The dangerous thing here is he's actually hurting women," he told the publication. "He's already crossed that threshold into physical contact. But this is a good news-bad news situation. He'll just keep doing this until he's caught and by keeping on doing this, he'll caught."

NBC Washington gave a detailed description of the suspect:

"According to Fairfax police, the suspect is desribed as Hispanic, in his late 20's, approximately 5'6'' in height, and heavy-set."

It seems that during the time I was out of the country, The Powers That Be at MSNBC decided to replace "Young Turks" host Cenk Uygur with civil rights movement celebrity Al Sharpton as host of the 6 p.m. hour. This move was confusing at first -- I naturally assumed that what I was seeing on the teevee was a result of jet lag or drunkenness, or that my Virgin Atlantic flight had flown through a wormhole into a parallel dimension (Richard Branson features this option on a select number of international flights). But I've come to understand that this Al Sharpton-on-MSNBC stuff is actually a real thing happening in our lives.

WASHINGTON -- A group of 60 House Democrats led by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) is urging the White House to sign a draft executive order that would require contractors to disclose their political contributions to politicians and outside groups free to spend on elections after the Supreme Court'sCitizens United ruling.

NEW YORK -- For municipalities struggling to get their finances in order and for the professionals who oversee their investments, the battle being waged in Washington over the federal debt ceiling has become an urgent source of worry.

Though he now leads a major nonprofit organization dedicated to serving malnourished children in Africa, Dr. Mark Manary insists he's more of a go-with-the-flow type of guy rather than someone who strategically thinks ahead.

WASHINGTON -- With time running out and still no bipartisan debt deal in sight, a growing number of House Democrats are pressuring President Barack Obama to use a constitutional option they say would allow him to raise the debt ceiling himself.

WASHINGTON -- House GOP leadership announced abruptly on Thursday evening that they were suspending a vote on Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) debt ceiling proposal, signaling in the process that the GOP lacked the votes to pass the package.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- States are bracing for plummeting high school graduation rates as districts nationwide dump flawed measurement formulas that often undercounted dropouts and produced inflated results.

The Kentucky Attorney General filed suit Wednesday against a chain of for-profit colleges in the state, claiming that administrators at Daymar Colleges have consistently deceived students by making false promises about the ability to transfer course credits and have forced them to purchase textbooks and supplies at substantially marked-up rates.

New tires add up. That's the finding of a report issued Wednesday by the American Society for Civil Engineers, which tallies up the cost of our decaying surface transportation infrastructure, from potholes to rusting bridges to buses that never come.

Today, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) will hold another in a series of hearings looking at Muslim radicalization. Despite the fact that today’s hearing focuses on Somali-Americans joining Al Shabab, a Somalia-based militant group, King denied Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN) request to testify before the committee. Ellison represents Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has a major Somali-American population. Ellison’s powerful and effective testimony before King’s first hearing about Muslim radicalization may be part of the reason he was turned down to testify before this one.

For months, Republicans have refused to budge when it comes to negotiations over raising the nation’s debt ceiling, rejecting various generous concessions in return for a simple vote to ensure that the country pays its bills. Now, with default only days away, Republicans have dug in, insisting that acceptance of their radical “cut, cap, and balance” plan is the onlyway forward.

An “unprecedented” coalition of religious leaders are coming together to urge President Obama not to sacrifice the needs of the poor in negotiations to reduce the nation’s debt. Leaders from the Episcopal Church, the Salvation Army, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ all met with Obama last week to present their unified message:

As negotiations continue over a debt reduction deal that has unneccesarily become part of the debate over raising the debt ceiling, some advocates are now looking for a way to raise the debt ceiling without needing the votes of obstinate, hostage-taking Republicans.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said today that some members of his own caucus who are refusing to agree to a compromise debt ceiling deal are hoping to unleash “chaos” and thus force the White House and Senate Democrats to make bigger concessions than they’re already offering. As many as 40 House Republicans, especially Tea Party members and freshmen, have demanded nothing short of changing the Constitution to include a balanced budget amendment before they would vote to raise debt ceiling, even though that has zero chance before the U.S. faces potential default on Aug. 2.

Adding her heft to the GOP’s debt ceiling debacle, the “undefeated” Sarah Palin graced Fox News Business last night to slam President Obama for suggesting that the wealthy should return to a higher tax rate. Blasting the White House and liberals for being “so addicted to that OPM, other people’s money,” Palin declared that Obama “is not capable of giving the right message” to the American people. Though a majority of Americans side with Obama’s position, Fox asked Palin why he seems so disconnected from the public. Palin harped on the all-too-familiar right-wing refrain that American ideals “seem[] to be foreign to our President” because of “his background. She added, “His ideas are the antithesis of those things that created the prosperity in America.” Watch it:

In what may be one of the most under-reported stories of the debt ceiling talks, Politico’s Jen Haberkorn notes that before negotiations broke down on Friday evening, President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner tentatively agreed to gradually raise the Medicare eligibility age as part of a “grand bargain” to increase the nation’s borrowing limit:

By a 224-204 vote, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) successfully led a revolt against the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives, stripping a provision in the FY 2012 Interior and Environment appropriations bill that would have blocked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing new species under the Endangered Species Act.

During a radio interview today, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the over 40 members of the CBC will be voting ‘no’ on any plan that cuts government services — including the plan put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Cleaver says the caucus insists on a clean vote to raise the debt ceiling — the same kind of vote “we’ve done repeatedly since 1917.” Cleaver explained, “we can deal with the deficit questions later, but let’s not send the most powerful nation on the planet into default.” Rep. Allen West (R-FL), the one Republican member of the CBC, has said he will support Speaker Boehner’s (R-OH) plan.

On Monday at the Republic, MO school board meeting, four Republic School Board members reviewed a year-old complaint that three books are inappropriate reading material for high school children. In a 4-0 vote, the members decided to ax two of the three books from the high school curriculum and the library shelves: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was sparred. The resident who filed the original complaint targeted these three books because “they teach principles contrary to the Bible“:

A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood confirmed today that one of their Dallas-area clinics was thetarget of a violent attack last night. Holly Morgan, director of media relations and communications for Planned Parenthood in Dallas said that at around 11 pm last night, the attacker(s) threw a Molotov cocktail, consisting of diesel fuel in a glass bottle with a lit rag, at the building. “It didn’t penetrate the health center office and none of the staff or patients were there, which is great,” Morgan said. “It scorched the outside of the door and I believe there was a little scorching to the retail locations on either side of it.” Fire crews “confirmed that an incendiary device was used in the attack.”

CNN reports this week that terrorism experts are warning that the “threat of domestic terrorist attacks in the United States similar to last week’s fatal bombing and assault in Norway is significant and growing”:

For many U.S. cities, hosting a major convention in town is a significant economic boom for its residents, with the potential of attracting more conventions and tourists in the future. The National Urban League will commence their annual convention today in Boston. For Beantown, the convention is more than an economic boom; it's an opportunity to heal racial wounds.

Amidst new research showing historic disparity in wealth between whites and minorities, President Obama is facing plummeting approval over his jobs agenda among core supporters, including liberal Democrats and African-Americans.

LOS ANGELES — The NAACP plans a big push to increase minority turnout in the 2012 elections, hoping to gain political influence and turn back what the civil rights group says are efforts in various states to deny minorities the right to vote.

Right-wing pundits and bloggers were quick to leap to judgement that the Norwegian terror attacks were the work of al-Qaeda or an Islamic terrorist. But the news that the attacker had blond hair and blue eyes and was inspired by right-wing “counterjihad” bloggers suddenly turned the tables on many of the bloggers and supposed “terrorism experts.”

GOP leaders stuck to their talking points last night in responding to President Obama’s speech on the debt ceiling, accusing him of the “largest spending binge in American history,” as Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said in remarks following the president’s. “[T]he President and his party continued to make demands which we cannot meet,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said yesterday, adding that Obama is demanding “a blank check to keep spending.”

Countering President Obama’s call for a long-term increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said yesterday that “there’s absolutely no economic justification” for an extended increase:

While the rest of the country focuses on the looming deadline to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, House Republicans are taking advantage of the distraction torepeal environmental regulations and pass the most severe environmental budget cuts in 35 years. Republicans are pushing a bill that cuts 7 percent from the Department of Interior budget and would reduce EPA funding by a whopping 18 percent — a $1.5 billion cut from current funding levels:

The 2012 presidential candidates have been slow to take a stand on House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) debt plan. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) announced his support yesterday, while Minnestoa Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) told ThinkProgress today she would not supportthe plan.

The NAACP passed a “historic resolution” today at its convention in Los Angeles calling for an end to the war on drugs. “These flawed drug policies that have been mostly enforced in African American communities must be stopped and replaced with evidenced-based practices that address the root causes of drug use and abuse in America,” President and CEO Ben Jealous said in a press release. Instead of sending drug offenders to prison, the NAACP is calling for a public health-oriented approach. The move comes after a high-level international panel in June called the drug war a “failure” and urged world governments to adopt a similar approach.

The financial website Zero Hedge reports that the cost of the U.S. debt being downgraded from our current AAA rating would be a whopping $100 billion a year. That’s according to JP Morgan Chase expert Terry Belton who spoke to reporters on a conference call this morning. In short, even if the U.S. does not default, a downgrade alone “will offset any beneficial impact from any deficit reduction that will have to happen for the debt ceiling to be increased.” Belton predicted that a downgrade would cause “a permanent increase in borrowing costs,” which will make it more costly for consumers and businesses to borrow money, risking another recession.

GOP presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) political platform is built on the idea that people should rely on neighbors and God, not government. In that vein, the existence of the government sponsored mortgage enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is practically heretical. A “fierce critic” of the mortgage-lending programs and their role in the financial crisis in 2008, Bachmann has repeatedly called to abolish the GSEs, wanting them to “wind down and file for bankruptcy.”

Florida is seeking bids from private companies to take over management of 30 state prisons in an 18-country area in South Florida. The “fastest privatization venture ever undertaken by the state of Florida” is an effort by Gov. Rick Scott (R) to save the state money byoutsourcing prison oversight to the lowest bidder:

Since 2009, Senate Republicans have forced virtually every bill to pass the 60-vote cloture threshold before it could come to the floor for actual debate. Thisunprecedentedobstruction forced Senate Democrats to find 60 supporting votes — as opposed to a simple majority of 51 — to pass health care reform, financial regulatory reform, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the economic stimulus package, and nearly every other bill they considered, and killed critical legislation like a climate change bill, immigration reform, and the DREAM Act. In addition, Republicans have successfully filibustered an unheard-of number of judicial and cabinet-level nominees, hindering the efficacy of both branches.

Before this year, Rep. Randy Neugebaur (R-TX) was known best as a birther who once interrupted President Obama by screaming “baby killer.” After Republicans swept Congress, Neugebaur gained a top spot on the Financial Services Committee and is now working to dismantle foreclosure relief efforts, repeal Wall Street reforms passed last year, and empower the banks to ignore new rules governing consumer protection.

The pharmaceutical drug industry has seen a huge decline in popularity of branded medicines in the past year — 2010 being the first year ever when all of the ten most popular medicines in the U.S. were cheap generics.

WASHINGTON (AP/The Huffington Post) -- Decrying a "partisan three-ring circus" in the nation's capital, President Barack Obama criticized a newly minted Republican plan to avert an unprecedented government default Monday night and said congressional leaders must produce a compromise that can reach his desk before the Aug. 2 deadline.

Today on CNN, Erin Burnett reported that she spoke with an investor who talked directly with the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. According to the Standard & Poor’s source, John Boehner’s debt plan would probably still lead to a downgrade of U.S. debt by the ratings agencies, raising interest rates for all Americans. Harry Reid’s plan, however, would preserve America’s AAA credit rating. Watch it:

Today, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) rejected Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) plan for raising the debt limit, claiming that it was full of gimmicks. Boehner’s principle criticism was that Reid’s plan counted $1 trillion in savings from winding down the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

WASHINGTON -- With eight days until the country officially defaults on its debts, likely sparking a worldwide credit crisis, the House of Representatives is busy with legislation aimed at repealing environmental regulations and stymieing conservation efforts.

4:10 p.m. -- A coalition of Tea Party chapters and conservative lawmakers on Monday rejected the debt proposal put forward by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), despite his efforts to sweeten the deal with provisions favored by his conservative base.

Today, Speaker John Boehner told the House GOP caucus that he is preparing a short-term bill that would raise the debt ceiling for about six months, despite Obama’s pledge to veto such a measure. On the call, Majority Leader Eric Cantor blasted Obama for opposing it. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Last week, Europeans leaders surprised critics by agreeing to a second rescue package for debt-stricken Greece. To those “irresponsible”people who had been “gleefully anticipating the collapse of the euro currency,” British Business Secretary Vince Cable presented the “irony of the situation at the moment.” A former economist, Cable told BBC television yesterday that “the biggest threat to the world financial system comes from a few right-wing nutters in the American congress rather than the euro zone.”

Over the past few days, it has come to light that the man presumed to be responsible for the terror attacks in Norway, Anders Breivik, held deeply anti-Muslim views and was motivated at least in part by a hatred of foreigners and multiculturalism. There is also evidence that he was a fan of far-right bloggers and political parties.

Something you often see in negotiations is a mismatch between one side’s stated sticking points and its real sticking points. In the debate over the debt ceiling, for example, Republicans have sought to portray themselves as having two bottom lines. One is that any increase in the debt ceiling must be met dollar-for-dollar with spending cuts. The other is that no revenue increases can be part of the deal. What Harry Reid did yesterday was essentially call the GOP’s bluff by outlining a plan that raises the debt ceiling by $2.7 trillion and includes $2.7 trillion in spending cuts, a healthy share of which comes from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

House Republicans, including Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), were calling for repeal of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law even before it had passed. Once they achieved a majority, House Republicans worked to undermine the law by cutting the budgets of financial market regulators and trying to slow down the implementation of several of the law’s provision.

As Republican refusal to negotiate on the debt ceiling pushes the country ever closer to the brink of default, one Iowa congressman sees the impending financial collapse as cause for impeaching President Obama.

Negotiations to raise the nation’s debt limit before the looming Aug. 2 deadline broke down over the weekend when Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) became the latest Republican to walk out of the talks. With only eight days to go before the country risks defaults, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) proposed to essentially give Republicans exactly what they wanted: a plan that would reduce the deficit by $2.7 trillion but include no increase in revenue. The plan is a major concession from Democrats, but Republicans still look poised to reject the plan and let the nation risk default for one reason — politics.

Inspired by climate denial pundits, right-wing Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik railed against global warming “enviro-communism” in his manifesto. Breivik — who confessed to killing 93 people in two attacks in Norway — published on the web a1,500-page manifesto describing his Christian conservative conspiracy theories. In one section, “Green is the new Red – Stop Enviro-Communism!” Breivik argues that global warming is actually a eco-Marxist plot “to create a world government” using the “Anthropogenic Global Warming scam”:

In an interview with PoliticsMo, Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) called President Obama a “flaming socialist” who is incapable of negotiating with Republicans on raising the debt ceiling. The fact that Akin would deem Obama a hardcore socialist after the president has caved to nearly every Republican demand, agreeing to slash trillions in spending and cut social safety net programs, in exchange for a what should be a non-controversial move to pay off the country’s debt shows just how far Akin is willing to diverge from reality to attack the president.

In the wake of the tragic bombing and shooting rampage in Norway, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence pointed out this morning that mass shootings are startlingly common in the U.S., with its much laxer gun laws. In a typical year, fewer than 10 people are killed by guns in Norway while 12,000 are shot and killed in the U.S. annually (the U.S. is about 60 times bigger than Norway but has 1,200 times more gun deaths):

Throughout the debate about raising the federal debt ceiling, Republicans have denied deal after deal because Democrats insist on adding new revenues to trillions of dollars in spending cuts. Republicans have opposed repealing oil and gas subsidies, removing a tax loophole for corporate jet owners, letting the Bush tax cuts expire, and all other forms of revenue Democrats have suggested. Raising taxes in a weak economy, they argue, is unthinkable — even if conservative patriarch Ronald Reagan did just that.

Just days from a potential default, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) this afternoon rejected Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) plan for raising the debt ceiling, saying he can’t support any plan that doesn’t cut entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. Reid’s plan, just hours old when Boehner aimed to kill it, essentially called the GOP’s bluff, giving them exactly what they have been asking for all along — spending cuts matching the increase in the debt ceiling and no new revenues.

A high school student in Arkansas was blocked from receiving sole valedictorian honors this summer, despite earning the highest G.P.A. in her class and receiving only a single B in her four years at McGehee Secondary School. Kymberly Wimberly’s offense? She’s black. School administrators worried that Wimberly’s accomplishment would result in a “big mess” at the majority-white school, so Principal Darrell Thompson told the student’s mother “that he decided to name a white student as co-valedictorian,” even though the white student had a lower G.P.A. The matter is currently pending in federal court.

As the Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen noted today, Democrats have bent over backwards to craft a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling, only to be rebuffed at every turn by congressional Republicans who have been insisting that any deal include no new revenue and some cockamamie conservative policies (like a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution). To date, the GOP has turned away at least six different versions of Democratic plans to raise the debt ceiling.

Pointing out that he and MSNBC have not yet consummated a deal, the Rev. Al Sharpton responded to black journalists questioning his credentials for an MSNBC hosting gig in an exclusive interview with The Root.

DETROIT — A lawyer involved in a long-running dispute over the estate of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks claims two other lawyers piled up fees that ate away about two-thirds of the estate’s $372,000 cash value.

NEW YORK — In 1962, when New York city planners first proposed a sewage treatment plant for the residents and businesses of Manhattan’s West Side, they picked a spot on the Hudson River around 72nd Street. The neighborhood, however, was well on its way to becoming what it is today — the white, upper middle class district of stylish brownstones, grand co-ops and newfangled condominiums known to most Americans as the backdrop for the TV sitcom, Seinfeld.

During an interview on ABC’s This Week today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) said that Republican demands that a deal to raise the debt ceiling include only spending cuts and no tax increases are unrealistic. To bolster his case, he noted that America is already “very low-tax compared to other developed countries”:

As of midnight yesterday, the Federal Aviation Administration shut down due to Congress’ failure to reauthorize it. (Critical functions such as air traffic control will continue.) The shutdown means that up to 4,000 federal employees will be furloughed, around $2.5 billion worth of airport construction will cease, and around $200 million a week in ticket taxes will go uncollected.

Appearing on ABC’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour, Fox Business Network Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino defended the Wall Street Journal and Fox News’ coverage of News Corp’s — Fox and the WSJ’s parent company — phone hacking scandal in the UK, in the following exchange:

Opponents of a Maryland bill that would allow some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition have collected enough signatures to force a referendum that places the measure on hold until next year's election.

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (AP) -- Twenty dollars for a parking place wasn't going to ruin Ellen Majka's day at the beach. But she was still taken aback when she arrived at Rhode Island's popular Scarborough state beach and learned that parking fees had nearly doubled.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Norwegian news reports confirm that Anders Behring Breivik, the gunman detained in connection to the terrorist attack yesterday in Oslo and Utoya Island, has confessed and called his actions “necessary.” This afternoon, reports emerged that Breivik had recentlyposted a political YouTube video outlining why “Christian soldiers” and “cultural conservatives” should rise up against “multiculturalism,” Muslims, and what he viewed as Marxist influence in society. The video, which was taken down and subsequently posted on other YouTube accounts, also features President Obama as part of a threat Breivik referred to as “Cultural Marxist Deconstruction.” Watch the video below:

Budget cuts have forced thousands of poor families to go without air conditioning as a record heat wave sweeps across the country. Many states have been facing budget crises and programs that help needy families pay their electric bills are often the first thing to go:

When news began to unfold on Friday of the terror attacks in Norway that has left more than 90 dead, many blogs and Twitter accounts immediately lit up with speculation about who was behind the massive bombings in Oslo and the subsequent attack on a youth camp 20 miles away.

Just as news emerged yesterday about the terror attacks in Norway, the right wing here in the U.S. rushed to judgement, declaring that they were perpetrated by Islamic terrorists. But Norwegian authorities have since charged Norwegian right-wing “Christian fundamentalist” Anders Breivik, a move that appears to have confused conservatives about terrorism in general.

A security researcher claims to have found a new security flaw in Apple laptops that could allow hackers to ruin laptop batteries, infect them with malware or potentially cause them to overheat and catch fire.

"The main reason U.S. companies are reluctant to step up hiring is scant demand, rather than uncertainty over government policies, according to a majority of economists in a new Wall Street Journal survey.

"'There is no demand,' said Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics. 'Businesses aren't confident enough, and the longer this goes on the harder it is to convince them that they should be.'"

This chart illustrates the problem. It comes from the latest report (PDF) from the NFIB:

We are now 11 days away from a default on our obligations, and House Republicans appear no closer to agreeing to increase the debt ceiling than they were weeks ago. The business community and other conservatives appear to be reacting to this default denialism with increasing alarm. Here’s a rundown of some of the right-wing calls to raise the debt ceiling.

Friday, July 22, 2011

WASHINGTON -- In spite of 9.2 percent unemployment and overall "satisfaction" with the state of the country at a two-year low, Americans continue to give President Obama higher approval ratings than experts would predict based on the economic climate.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Huge increases in deportations of people after they were arrested for breaking traffic or immigration laws or driving drunk helped the Obama administration set a record last year for the number of criminal immigrants forced to leave the country, documents show.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) is preparing subpoenasas part of an initial investigation into whether News Corp violated the Foreign Corrupts Practices Act (FCPA) when its British subsidiary allegedly bribed police officers in the U.K.:

This week, the so-called Gang of Six — composed of Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Kent Conrad (D-ND) —released the outline of a plan that would reduce deficits by about $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years, with about $3 trillion of that coming from spending cuts. The plan closely mirrors that of the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission.

Fox News hosts Bill O’Reilly and Stuart Varney agreed last night that Rep. Allen West (R-FL) was merely defending his “honor” when he personally attackedRep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) as “vile” and unladylike for criticizing his voting record. “I think he should have gone after Wasserman Schultz the way he wanted to,” O’Reilly said, adding that West shouldn’t apologize:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) looks increasingly likely to launch a presidential campaign as he takes every opportunity to criticize President Obama. In a sharply worded statement, Perryaccused Obama of “leaving American astronauts with no alternative but to hitchhike into space.” Texas is home to the Johnson Space Center, and Perry says he’s outraged that the U.S. is halting its leadership in space exploration. Perry charges that the administration “continues to lead federal agencies and programs astray, this time forcing NASA away from its original purpose of space exploration, and ignoring its groundbreaking past and enormous future potential.”

Last September, Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin answered critics who predicted that the movement would soon peter out: “The Tea Party movement is here to stay.” Seven months later, presidential candidate Herman Cain — a Tea Party favorite — echoed the same sentiment: “I have people asking me all the time. Do you think this Tea-Party ‘thing’ is going to go away? [...] No, it’s not going away. It’s gonna get stronger and stronger.”

Speaking with ThinkProgress today, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) offered a take on the reasons behind House Republicans’ obstinacy on the debt ceiling. Describing it as the “the party of denial,” Moran compared the current GOP to the historical, nativist “Know-Nothing party” that, incidentally, wanted to restrict types of immigrants and have daily bible readings in public schools. Moran said Republicans “don’t know enough to know what they don’t know,” including “how serious lifting the debt ceiling it,” or “the results of any of their own actions.” “They just don’t know, they don’t care,” Moran said, adding that “a majority of the House Republicans ran on the basis that government doesn’t work. And now that they’re elected they’re determined to prove it.” Watch it:

CNN reports that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said he is walking away from deficit reduction talks with the White House. Boehner will instead hold direct negotiations with the Senate leadership to reach a compromise. “In the end, we couldn’t connect,” Boehner said in a letter circulated to the Republican caucus.

Combining a bit of basic economic common sense and hard political calculus, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) said on CSPAN today that it’s “pretty stupid and naive” to think that anti-tax absolutists like activist Grover Norquist will be able to avoid raising taxes forever. Sounding almost progressive, the hard-right senator noted that government revenues are at a 60-year-low and that people are unfairly benefiting from tax expenditures, thus loopholes will have to be closed and more revenue raised. He also made the obvious political calculation that Republicans only control the House, so they should not be dictating terms. Watch it:

The Federal Aviation Administration will shut down at midnight after GOP senators refused to let go of an anti-union provision amending the National Mediation Board’s union voting rules. Speaking of the matter, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) lambasted his colleague Sen. Orinn Hatch (R-UT) on the Senate floor over the political manuevering, saying that Hatch is only presenting “one side of a story”:

Show Your Support

Hi, I would like to ask you to support this blog by viewing one of the many ads listed below and sometimes posted in the article you chose to read. Also, I would like to thank you for taking the time to view any of the content of this Blog. I hope you find a post that interest you as well as a product or service that can help you out when needed. Most of the products or services are available worldwide so be sure to view the products home page by means of clicking on the ad itself if you are interested.

About Me

Simple man, who likes simple things. Who seems to meet some simple people and I don't mean the good simple either. Still, it's fun to meet people who can relate to things behind the wall of the internet. "Sometimes it's best not to see a face only to feel a heart."